There's no way that Mark is saying that it's accomplished through a mystical force (IMO). I think that what he's saying is that it cannot be as simply described by physics as some people represent - or hope.

Anyway, if people hate mystical explanations than I wonder what they think of Ueshiba?

Best,

Chris

I follow all these posts with great interest. Thru the gamut of all the discussions regarding IP/IS, What did Ueshiba mean, Ueshiba retranslated, spirituality in Aikido, the philisophical split between East/West, etc...

I think Chris' last statement is bringing it full circle. You have a model in IP/IS that defies a simple written explanation, it defies simple mathematics, it defies breaking it down into smaller components/variables typically used in Western science...

So what was Ueshiba left with and what fit him personally? Spiritual terminology to convey a description and an idea of a feeling. Hence why everyone says IHSTBF. Then after practice, practice, practice (shugyo) you start to glimpse the feeling. Then you re-read what you once thought was spiritual mumbo jumbo and start to make sense of the message trying to be conveyed.

my 2 cents from an outsider.

Keep going, I just switch from tea to coffee to popcorn thru out the day!